Lockheed Martin wins $253m Saudi contractLockheed Martin, a global security and aerospace company, said it has won a $253 million contract to provide F-15SA pilot and maintenance training systems for the Royal Saudi Air Force.

The US defence giant has served as the Royal Saudi Air Force’s F-15 training partner for more than three decades. The company also provides the service’s weapons systems officer training program.

In addition to delivering training systems to Saudi Arabia, Lockheed Martin's F-15 training technologies are currently in operation by the US and Japan.

As per the deal, Lockheed Martin will provide virtual training systems by 2020. The work will be performed in Akron, Ohio, and Orlando, Florida. The contract is managed through a foreign military sales agreement by the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

The technologies will provide a comprehensive ground-based training environment for Saudi Arabia’s F-15SA modernization program, said a statement from Lockheed Martin.

Pilots will complete air-to-air combat, air-to-surface missions, air combat maneuvers and tactical intercepts with 360-degree full mission trainers, it stated.

As a first for F-15 training, the systems will feature a single dome over the dual-seat cockpit to enable crew co-ordination training. Lockheed Martin will also deliver egress, avionics and desktop trainers for procedure training by pilots, it added.